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Formula 1: Drive to Survive (2019)
Perfect precursor to the 2019 F1 season
In the day and age of social media everybody is a 'backseat driver' and wannabe critic, wether positive or negative. So I'm not going to say much in-depth about this mini-documentary.
I loved the editing, use of material and insight not normally given into F1. Anyone who likes F1 to a certain extend and is geared up towards the 2019 season will most likely enjoy this as a primer. Anyone who isn't into F1 yet, but has a slight interest should get a good grasp of all the politics, mindgames et al that go on behind the scenes aswell.
Liberty Media and Netflix, please do this every year and never mind the critics!
10/10 well deserved from me
Beta Test (2016)
This movie is not just bad, it's really bad!
I'm not the review-writer really, but after seeing this movie and the absurdly high rating it gets here on IMDb I just had to write my 50 cents worth. To sum up some things about this movie in short:
- Acting: Poor/lacklustre/wooden/amateuristic - Directing: There was a director on set?! - Writing: Nice try, but utter fail - Production: Cheap
Guy is beta tester for a gaming company to find out he's controlling a real person (ex-employee turned against the company). If you like this premise alone, I strongly suggest you go and watch 'Gamer' because in that film this concept is executed 100 times better. Gamer and ex-employee turned avatar go against company, have a couple really slow-paced unbelievable fight-scenes towards the end. Director of gaming company has a popcorn-frenzy somewhere in the last part of the film... I mean really? Someone must really thought let's flip off our viewers and shove them some bs down their troath. Even for an Indie-movie with a low production budget this is an insult to nominal human intelligence in general, and they should have spend that money on repaving some road in Texas or something.
This movie is Into The Woods bad (and that movie was really bad). There's not a single thing that I can credit as being positive about this movie... Wel... some of the music was OK. You'll be craving the endtitles before the first 3rd of the movie has passed!
Der 90. Geburtstag oder Dinner for One (1963)
A forever lasting comedy tradition on new years eve
Really I can't tell how often I have seen this skit on TV already. I remember seeing it when I was 5 years old, which now is some 30 years in the past, and I never grew tired of it. I now even have a DVD copy of it and occasionally show it to friends who didn't see it yet at parties. It's always an instant hit and everybody laughs themselves to tears!
Freddie Frinton is exceptional in playing the butler having to ordeal the 'same procedure as every year', which means drinking all the drinks of the four deceased friends of Ms. Sophie during each course of the meal. Even the 'non-funny' moments, in a very smart way, are being made funny by Frinton through his top-notch performance. You can even see May Warden having to hold her breath as not to laugh during this skit. The whole sketch is extremely well-paced, good thought out and even today gives many people a good view on our often narrow minded society through a very simple and unprovocative thematic. Strange but true...
People who don't laugh at this sketch or don't like it should be banned on a diet of films about suicide and murder! Go see this as you won't regret it! 11+/10!!!
Paranormal Activity (2007)
Good and genuine depiction of a demonic haunting
There's been a lot of controversy about this movie, and there'll always be. People expecting to be entertained (read: scared) by a well developed plot and/or some gore effects will surely be disappointed. People expecting good character development and glamorous camera-work also should favor other movies above this one. If however you like to be thought-provoked and enjoy imaginative horror-flicks you can give this film a try, and probably like it as well. I went into this movie being for one a fan of the horror-genre and second having a great interest and knowledge about the paranormal. In that respect I can say that this is one of the few movies that delivers! If you ever wanted to know/experience what a haunting or poltergeist phenomena, if you will, are like, then this film gets it more right than many other (over the top) haunting/possession movies.
You are thrown right into the film just after Micah bought himself a (quite huge) video-camera. This to document the strange occurrences happening in their house which focus themselves on Katie. There's no real character development, and that's a strong point of the film, because if you buy a camera to document some weird and frightening phenomena you don't really worry about developing a character, plot, looking good or making great dialog, let alone thinking someone would ever think about putting it on the big screen... You just want to film what's going on from a scientific or interest standpoint. That's just the way it is done in this film. You're presented a reel of film 'as is'. A documentation of all the happenings in the house.
The clever use of mainly sound is what provokes a lot thought and wondering with the viewer. Not showing someone being slashed to pieces, but just a frightening noise which makes you as viewer think: "What on earth was that?!". This is on par with what a real haunting would play out like. Rarely you 'see' ghosts, but more often you hear or feel them while they play their fear-inducing tricks on you. Katie becoming more desperate and lost and Micah becoming more and more aggravated inducing the downward spiral of 'negative energy' which demons and ghost happily feed of, and therefore in turn become stronger and more malevolent.
The more up-front theatrical 'Spielberg' ending of this movie is good and effective, plus it leaves things open for a sequel. Myself however, I liked the original ending a bit better because of the simple fact that it makes you wonder what happened downstairs and provokes more thoughts and pondering... The filmmakers really put their thoughts into this movie and did their homework regarding hauntings very well! Nevertheless I can see why there are people who feel this movie to be worthless. You can't please them all, and thank God for different tastes. However, people who want to take a tense emotional, and besides that genuine ride into hauntings and the paranormal should really not miss this one! I won't say it'll scare you witless, but it'll sure make you think, and think again!
Rescue Dawn (2006)
Beautiful and tense, yet highly inaccurate film!
I almost felt ashamed I never had heard from this film before, until I saw it being aired recently on one of the movie-channels. Herzog created a very tense film, with great camera-work and underlined by an A-class soundtrack.
The story of Dieter Dengler's ordeals during his capture in Laos are the focal-point of this film. The story does really grip you and the film sucks you in, therefore my high rating of this movie.
After doing some research I was however very annoyed to see that Herzog took great liberty with the actual facts as they really happened. I urge you to look up www.rescuedawnthetruth.com to catch up on what REALLY went on there! For one, Eugene DeBruin is portrayed as a somewhat deranged and selfish man, which couldn't be farther from the truth. Dieter is portrayed as a genuine hero, and mastermind of the whole escape, which also couldn't be farther from the truth! Although it's a very good and gripping film, it would have been nice if Herzog had taken the time to get his facts straight, albeit looking at the documentary 'Little Dieter Needs To Fly' (with some good and true facts) took the time to tell the true story, which ofcoarse would have been much more difficult to turn into a truthfull film, than the story he tries to serve us here! Unfortunately this film in the end suffers from a very singleton vision on the whole ordeal, and lacks of research and most of all... approval from other parties involved in the story.
Although based on a true story, this film can be classified as: "A distorted and very liberal adaptation of a true story".